In what will undoubtedly go down in history as the stupidest and most dangerous move by the D.C. City Council, bars in the nation’s capital will extend “last call” from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. during the Obama inauguration.
Why now? Why for this president-elect? Likely the dollar signs in the eyes of owners of local watering holes have pushed the lawmakers over the edge into this area of irresponsibility. The likelihood of alcohol-related injuries and deaths will skyrocket, arrests for public drunkenness and disorderliness will increase, and the potential for tragedy to mar Barack Obama’s celebration will be heightened.
One person losing his or her life due to this greedy excess will be one too many, and will mar the historic event. One alcohol-related death is one too many. Having lost my only sister to a drunk driver, I can attest to that fact. President Bush, President-elect Obama, Congress, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and other concerned groups should smack down this ill-fated idea.
Meanwhile, I will not be going out at night that week — not because I am a Republican, but because the City Council’s vote to keep the bars open until 5 a.m. for several days surrounding the Obama inauguration makes my city just too damn dangerous.